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Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Miss Marmalade, Brunswick by Big Fil

It took us longer than it should have to find Miss Marmalade. My bad, as I'd noted it was off Sydney Road on Union Street but had neglected to pay attention to how far down we had to go. Thinking it was on the other side of the train lines we basically wandered around in circles thinking I’d got the road wrong. A couple of friendly pram pushing locals soon had us sorted out, but by this stage I was wondering if we'd compromised getting a table at this very popular little cafe.

Fortunately though, while the cafe looks small it managed to hold more people than I’d have thought possible. There are three separate areas to sit, a few dog friendly footpath tables for al fresco dining, a very cute inside area and, out the back, a separate room which on this day seemed to have been commandeered by local families.

The breakfast menu is fairly short and had both Snooze and myself a little stumped as to what to order. In the end it felt like we both ordered something more healthy than usual, the green fritters and the Farmer’s Market breakfasts.

This is one of those days when I wished I'd taken notes, well other than just the list of ingredients. It’s only a week ago and already a ridiculously busy week has banished almost all details from memory, just an overall impression of a cafe which got almost everything right without ‘wowing’ me.

Snooze went with the green fritters, with spinach, broad beans, baby peas, zucchini, heirloom tomato salsa, balsamic vinegar and lime and sesame yoghurt. I’d been tossing up ordering this before she got in first, and it looked good when it hit the table. From the sample provided by Snooze I remember nice fritters combined with garden fresh flavours. When I asked Snooze, she mentioned the added complexity from the vinegar and yoghurt, and how they took this dish into the "must try" category.

My Farmer’s Market came with homemade corn bread, hash potatoes, cherry tomatoes, vegetables, a poached egg, micro herbs, parmesan cheese and crushed avocado. Again, looked good, tasted good, and in marked contrast to a lot of our weekend brunches, tasted fresh and healthy. The one element which disappointed me a little though was the reason I ordered this dish, the corn bread. Main issue, just a touch dry for me.

Overall

Good breakfasts, friendly staff, cute cafe, one of those places to me anyway which doesn’t push the envelope but I’d just love to have as my local.